The latest unemployment data showing the jobless rate falling to under 4% follows the equally bad 1.0% economic growth in the September quarter and a budget surplus of $5.5b, confirming the economy is going down like Donald Trump, as predicted by the ANZ Bank’s business confidence survey
More than that, it needs to be torn down before it makes a serious bid at flight.
There is a rather simple way for the world to do something significant about climate change and global warming. All that we have to do is work out how to get rid of bitcoin.
Yesterday the government announced that it was reversing the previous government’s decision to kill off the electric trains. The decision is one of many recently made that suggests that the future of rail is bright.
Shade it any colour you like…
New Zealand is now getting truckie protests about fuel prices reminiscent of the first term of the Helen Clark government. This is no doubt the start of many protests to come from truckie and consumer alike.
A new political party has emerged with what could be loosely described as a stunning website.
Remember the $11.5 billion hole that Stephen Joyce and National said Labour was going to leave the country with? Well the 2017/18 financial books have been completed and released and the Government’s surplus was $2.4 billion greater than forecast.
On the day that the IPCC has confirmed that the world is running out of time to do something to try and preserve what we have National and associated entities have complained that fuel prices are too high.
The Government is consulting on changes to the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill to prevent further offshore drilling permits being issued. Locally the right are saying it will make things worse. And in the US of A the Trump administration has conceded that out of control climate change is inevitable.
National’s chicken little the sky is falling mantra about New Zealand’s economy has been dealt a large hole by Moody’s confirming New Zealand’s Aaa AAA credit rating.
The Tax Working Group says the gaping holes in our tax system make it unfair and undermine its integrity, but the prospect of the electorate embracing even its limited recommendations on taxing capital gains make for depressing contemplation.
ANZ Bank’s Outlook business confidence survey has been forecasting gloom and doom for the economy ever since the surprise election result turfed out the National Party. Today’s GDP data showed the economy has actually been pumping along faster than the Reserve Bank believes is good for it.
A recent survey conducted by IPSOS shows New Zealanders are feeling more positive about the Labour-NZ First coalition government than they were the previous one.
Ros Wynne Jones in the Daily Mirror excoriates the excesses of the Banking system and wonders why the rest of us tolerate bankers’ behaviour.
Why is it that all risk lies with the shareholders? Why does poor performance by a company not result in CEO and top management bonuses being clawed back?
Fonterra has just reported an after tax loss of $196 million for the 2018 year. It’s never had an annual loss in its history.
Lately the news has been all doom and gloom about business confidence. But what is the reality? And should we worry what an Australian Bank is telling us?
The Scottish government has just taken a massive step to eradicate period poverty. Why not here?
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is proposing a law change that would require US corporations to consider its workers and community in company decisions and prevent political donations from being made unless 75% of shareholders agreed.
We’ve seen a fair few construction companies go under or get close to it recently.
Hand in hand with “compassionate liberalism”.
Economist Ganesh Nana and Alan Johnson from the Salvation Army have urged the Government to relax the fiscal straight jacket imposed by its budget responsibility rules.
Occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton has written a cogent column on industrial relations in which he realises and accepts that wages for ordinary workers are too low.
Deserving workers and undeserving workers in the public service.
updated
If the political class think liberalism has failed, then why is it that the process of killing off NZ Post is approaching completion?
Darien Fenton writes about Business New Zealand’s early approach to the Fair Pay panel.
Remember when you could pay a mortgage, keep the kitchen cupboard full, take the kids to the movies now and then, by working as a bus driver, a freezing worker, a journalist, or any number of other solid middle-Kiwi jobs? When a decent working life was a given…
For the first time possibly ever a National leader has supported the right of the rank and file to engage in industrial action to improve their living conditions.
Some proposals on why we just got the budget we did.
This is as good a year as it is going to get to squeeze your employer for a fair wage.
410 ppm. And rising.
The review into Australia’s banking system really matters to New Zealand and is doing New Zealand an almighty good service.
National’s Blue Green conference on the weekend suggests that the party has moved on from outright denial that cliamte change exists to grudging acceptance that it is a phenomenon but “balance” requires that it is tolerated.
For those of us who were without electricity to their houses in Auckland for several days, it’s worth turning our thoughts to Vector.
The Government has announced that there will be no new offshore oil and gas exploration permits issued under the block offer process.
